12 Tweets to Take Your Biz to the Top

Twitter. When many entrepreneurs and small business owners hear that word they cringe. "Twitter can't seriously help my business." "140 characters cannot possibly be an effective marketing strategy." "Tweeting seems to be a waste of time." The people who say these things could not be more wrong.

Twitter is a powerful way to build a social media presence and brand. And those 140 characters that you put out there can have an extremely positive effect on your startup's popularity and online presence. But what should you tweet about? Here are 12 simple tweets that will help you get more followers and therefore, more potential clients and customers.

1. Quotes: Quick inspirational or motivational quotes are some of the most retweeted posts in the Twitterverse. Post quotes that actually mean something to you or ones that relate directly to your business.
2. Teach something: By highlighting some of your expert skills and teaching others how to do something, your educational tweets will automatically become more worthy to be read.
3. Tweet news: Tweeting breaking news either from your industry or from events from around the world is a great way to engage your followers in your tweets.
4. Ask for advice: For quick responses for much-needed advice, just ask for it via Twitter! And remember, advice can go vice-versa. If you see that someone needs quick advice on Twitter, tweet back at them with your quick response.
5. Bit.ly some blogs: If you read an article or blog that you would love for others to read, tweet it! If the blog or article does not have a Twitter icon, simple type in the URL address into www.bit.ly and the site will give you a shortened link.
6. Create Twitter lists: Highlight contributors in your industry by posting on certain Twitter lists.
7. Announce events: Got a cool event happening in your area? Hosting an even of your own? Tweet about it and invite people to join you.
8. Product review: Review any product on your Twitter account.
9. Retweets: Retweet what others have said. If you see a post that is useful, inspirational, educational, or just an awesome tweet in general, retweet it! Retweeting allows for the minimum amount of brain power for the maximum amount of results!
10. Thank yous: Thank anyone that mentions you on Twitter or any posts by you that have been retweeted.
11. Market your offers: Let people know if you are offering discounts or coupons on your products or services.
12. What you're up to: Sometimes, letting people know exactly what you're up to gives them the close and personalized feeling that they want. Let your followers know if you're working on a big project, are sliding out to your favorite lunch, or if you're starting to promote a new product.

With these twelve Twitter tips (say that five times fast!), you are sure to get more followers, engage your current followers, and use Twitter to your business's advantage!